


Snow White and the Practical Queen

by RobberBaroness



Category: Schneewittchen | Snow White (Fairy Tale)
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Coming of Age, Dark Magic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-10 07:51:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3282623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobberBaroness/pseuds/RobberBaroness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I will not mistreat, abuse, or plot elaborately to kill my Beautiful Yet Innocent Stepdaughter (she's destined for something, count on it). Instead I will treat her with all the kindness and love possible while slowly reshaping her in my image."- The Evil Empress Guide</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snow White and the Practical Queen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zdenka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zdenka/gifts).



Snow White’s hair was thick and curly, which was unfortunately out of fashion in court.  If she had been born ten years earlier, she would have taken pride in her ringlets; instead she stuffed them in a golden net that only barely kept them under control.  She knew she was beautiful nevertheless, for her stepmother told her so- and her stepmother was not one to give compliments idly.  

“Remember, child,” said the Queen Regent, “beauty is an effort and not a gift.  It is a matter of cosmetics, garments and ornamentation.  Your features will give you an easy time of it, but any woman with sufficient wealth and leisure can be beautiful.  Know this, and you will never fall prey to flatterers.”

Being taken into her stepmother’s confidence was thrilling, and Snow White made an effort to be a dutiful pupil.   _When I am Queen_ , she told herself, _I will always strive to be as wise as my stepmother_.

 

***

 

There were whispers that the Queen Regent was a witch, but Snow White paid them little heed.  After all, hadn’t they said the same thing about her own mother, all due to her foreign birth and strange ways?  Certainly her stepmother was superstitious, and she knew a great deal about the herbs and flowers and fruit she grew for her perfumes, but such things did not speak of evil.

She learned the truth one night when she was certainly not spying on her clever and elegant stepmother, but merely standing by her door quietly, breaking no rules.  The Queen Regent was whispering to someone else, though it was hard to decipher what she was saying.  What was even stranger was the response, a voice that Snow White was certain she had never heard before.  It wouldn’t hurt just to peek…

...or so she thought.  What she saw in the room was worse than any rumor that had ever been whispered about her stepmother: a ghostly figure was bound in spectral chains, writhing but unable to escape, as the Queen Regent waved her hands and dragged it towards a gilded mirror.  When the figure was abruptly shoved into the glass, Snow White could take it no longer.

“Stop it!” she cried.  Her stepmother turned her head, and for a moment Snow White feared for her life, but she only smiled.

“You had to learn some time,” said the Queen Regent.  “Come in and I’ll teach you.”

Snow White turned and ran to her room.  Her stepmother did not follow her, but she bolted the door nevertheless.

 _When I am Queen_ , she told herself, _I will never be as wicked as my stepmother_.

 

***

 

Snow White was persuaded to open her door in the morning, if only so her maid would not get in trouble for failing to clean the room.  She could not, however, be persuaded to join the Queen Regent for breakfast, and so her stepmother had to come to her.

“Child?  Are you feeling well?”

Snow White said nothing, and her stepmother sighed.

“I had planned on introducing you to magic slowly, so that you wouldn’t be frightened.  It may seem strange to you, but there are many ways in which spirits may be put to use to defend your throne.”

“It doesn’t seem strange.  It seems wrong.”

The Queen Regent tilted her head and considered her stepdaughter’s response.

“Wrong?  I assure you, no spirit would ever help you otherwise, nor even reach out a hand if you fell.  I could tell you how many assassination attempts have been thwarted by use of a spirit-haunted mirror, but I worry that would frighten you even more.”

“I am not frightened.  I am angry.”

“That is your right.  When you are Queen, you may have me exiled for heresy- or you may thank me on bended knee for what you have learned.  In the meantime, my offer of teaching remains open.  I’ll have breakfast sent to you so that you may sulk in peace.”

And so her stepmother left Snow White all alone to reflect.

_When I am Queen, I must remain myself.  That is all I can wish for._

 

 


End file.
